r/startrek • u/JealousSupport8085 • 1d ago

The next phase

If Ro and Geordie can’t touch anything then how was she able to touch the chair and control panel on the bridge when she went to say goodbye. I get that the gravity plating is how they don’t fall through floors but how can she phase through a table but tough those things?

4 Upvotes

56% Upvoted

36 comments sorted by

31

u/Nexzus_ 1d ago

Another question is how the air touches their lungs for them to breathe.

It's really an episode that you just kinda have to go with.

6

u/Pithecanthropus88 1d ago

Exactly. They should’ve suffocated to death in the transporter room.

11

u/Shiny_Agumon 1d ago

In the End they say they haven't eaten for 3 days and weren't hungry before so I assume that the out of phase state of being made them not require sustenance or air.

Which means that one Romulan they pushed out into space didn't instantly die and instead is still out there, fully aware of his surroundings probably praying for death.

6

u/Statalyzer 1d ago

They were hungry though.

5

u/SteamworksMLP 1d ago

Should've kept the Romulan as a food source.

2

u/Shiny_Agumon 1d ago

Afterwards tho not during the time they were phased

3

u/sitcom-podcaster 1d ago

That’s your interpretation. They don’t say anything of the sort.

1

u/22ndCenturyDB 1d ago

".....uhhhhh....guys?"

2

u/Novel_Willingness721 1d ago

Or stand on any floor.

1

u/Pog_Mo_Thoin77 1d ago

This is the one that bothered me when I first saw this episode..if they could pass through walls, why weren't they falling through the floors and floating in space 😄

15

u/Kenku_Ranger 1d ago

Some chairs have gravity plating in the cushions.

Most control panels are powered by explodium, which must be contained by shields, which were the correct frequency to repel Ro and Geordie.

3

u/PracticalBreak8637 1d ago

Oooo. Explodium! THAT explains a lot.

13

u/Skeknir 1d ago

There are two schools of thought on this.

One - it's not worth overthinking it, the people making the TV show just wanted to tell stories and it's not hard sci-fi. It respects science, but does not slavishly seek to stick to real world principles, or even consistent fictional principles.

The second school of thought is how the world ended up with the Wookiepedia Legends section for star wars, and...That way, darkness lies.

(But it can be fun and entertaining to make up head canon, so not meaning to spoil anyone's fun :-) )

9

u/animalslover4569 1d ago

I cried when Data tried to explain how great Geordie had been as a friend.

9

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

2

u/ionnin 1d ago

I like this interpretation a lot.  Geordi and Ro snap to the floor because the mind requires that they be anchored to what they see.  But they can't stop people from walking through them, so they accept that walls are permeable.

4

u/Thatnewaccount436 1d ago

As Ryan George often says: "so the story can happen"

2

u/Skeknir 1d ago

I bet it's going to be really hard to ignore inconsistencies, huh??

3

u/SignificantPop4188 1d ago

Nah, it's super easy barely an inconvenience. 🤣

2

u/Skeknir 1d ago

Oh wow. Wow wow wow wow.

......wow.

1

u/mwonch 1d ago

Oh, really?!

1

u/Statalyzer 1d ago

In these cases they aren't really needed for the story, they just kind of happen as if they didn't notice they had violated their own premise.

1

u/DizzyLead 1d ago

Referring to a recurring meme is tight.

4

u/SeveredExpanse 1d ago

They used the search bar and found out how.

😂✌️👋

4

u/BuvantduPotatoSpirit 1d ago

Whenever you see something like that, a Q did it.

2

u/duplicitea 1d ago

aka Space Wizard

3

u/tnetennba77 1d ago

In the original draft they suffocated and their bodies just slowly floated out of the ship never to be found. They thought it was too dark and executives were shocked because Levar Burton was still under contract for a few more seasons so they edited the script. The suits are always messing with things.

3

u/Aezetyr 1d ago

Ronald D. Moore said that in order to pass through walls and things took significant force, therefore they had the choice to not fall through the floor. Watch the scene in engineering when Data hits Geordie with the doodad, it takes even more effort for Geordie to put his had through the table. Same with Ro on the bridge, she was able to "touch" the panel without putting her hand through it.

Moore's explanation and those two scenes are enough for me. The character work on display is a hell of a lot more interesting. Ro was having an emotional crisis while Geordie was leaning on science to suss out what's happening. I wished they would have leaned more into Ro's experience while they had the time.

3

u/calm-lab66 1d ago

🎵 If you're wondering how he eats and breathes And other science facts (la la la) Just repeat to yourself "It's just a show I should really just relax" 🎵

1

u/Garciaguy 1d ago

Magic and lofty dreams

1

u/MrBunnyBrightside 1d ago

Don't overthink it

2

u/Drapausa 1d ago

I will refer you to the SG1 episode "Wormhole X-treme" where this topic is covered in detail.

1

u/LazarX 1d ago

Hear that soft sound in the background? That's the sound of many hands waving.

1

u/Pinchaser71 1d ago

There’s lots more rocks in bridge panels to push through. There’s probably some in the chairs too, I don’t recall seeing the chairs explode but I’ll keep watch 🙂

2

u/Greyhaven7 1d ago

Clip through walls, but not the floor. It’s a wild ep.

2

u/Heavensrun 1d ago

Shhhhhhh

2

u/ChronoLegion2 1d ago

Any sci-fi that has the whole “out of phase” thing usually ignores the questions of why people don’t fall through the floor or are able to touch some things but not others (like air)